A Christmas Surprise
by Y2J's Princess
Summary: Chris pays Stephanie a visit, but what is his reasoning?


A/N: This is just a short, sweet Christmas-y type story to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. I don't own any of the characters you see in this story. Also, for purposes of the story, Chris isn't married and neither is Stephanie.  
  
Chris Jericho sat in his car which was parked in the driveway of Stephanie McMahon's house. In his lap was a small gift, wrapped in fancy Christmas wrapping.  
  
July 25th, 2002 had changed his life more than he thought it would. That was the day he had left Smackdown to go to Raw. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. He felt like he would have better potential on the Raw brand. Never in a million years did he think that he would look back on that day and see it as the biggest mistake in his life. It was the day he had lost Stephanie for good.  
  
On TV, they had been 'business partners', but once the cameras were off they were a couple. A happy couple. His move to Raw had not only put an ending to their relationship, but it had caused a layer of tension to form between the two whenever they saw each other. They kept in touch over the phone for the first few weeks or so, but slowly, the contact between the two grew less and less, until finally, all contact was broken.  
  
Chris thought he'd be able to get over Stephanie, but he was terribly wrong. When there was a joint PPV, he would long to go find her, just to look into her eyes and have a nice conversation. The only time they spoke during the PPV was to say a quick "Hello" or "How are you?" which drove him up the wall.  
  
He missed holding her in his arms, he missed kissing her, he missed staying up late with her to eat popcorn and watch movies, he missed arguing with her over the simplest things. He missed.. her. Everything about her.  
  
Even though he wouldn't admit to it if questioned, he kept up with her. He'd nonchalantly ask Kurt or someone else close to her how she was doing. He found himself watching Smackdown, an instant smile coming to his face when he saw her on the screen.  
  
He'd seethe with anger when he saw her being put into matches against The Ape, known as A-train, or the monster, Brock Lesnar. He was eternally grateful to wrestlers like Kurt Angle and the Undertaker who were able to help her when he couldn't. He blamed himself most of the time. He knew if he had been on Smackdown, even if the matches absolutely had to take place, he would be there afterwards to take care of her.  
  
And then it happened. Stephanie was forced to leave the company again, thanks to her father, Vince McMahon. Chris knew how hard that must've been on her. Stephanie grew up with the company, it was in her blood. But then another part of him knew that she wouldn't stay gone for very long.  
  
Being the type of woman she was, she would find a way to get herself back into the company, no matter what it took. He wanted so badly to call her and let her know that he still cared, but he couldn't muster up the courage to do it. He'd dial her number and hang up before the phone even had a chance to ring, being scared of how she would react to his call.  
  
After a while, however, it had become too much and he couldn't handle it any longer. He absolutely had to see her. Which is how he ended up in her driveway. He had wanted to get her a Christmas gift anyway, and it provided a good reason for his sudden and unexpected appearance.  
  
Letting out a long, deep breath, Chris got out of his car and slowly made his way up to her door. He hesitated for a few moments before knocking on the door.  
  
Hearing a soft knock at the door, Stephanie perked up a bit and arched an eyebrow in curiosity, wondering who could possibly be at her door. She got up from the couch and walked towards the door, opening it. She had to blink a few times to make sure who she saw on the other side of the door was truly there.  
  
"Chris?"  
  
His gift was hidden in the pocket of his coat, his hands clasped behind his back. He gave a bit of a sheepish grin. "Hey, Steph. Mind if I come in, or are you going to make me stay out here in the cold weather and freeze to death?"  
  
She stared at him for a few moments, still in shock of finding Chris at her door. "I should let you stay out there and freeze, but..c'mon." She stepped to the side so he could enter, closing the door once he was inside. She led him over to one of the couches in the living room, sitting down on the one across from him.  
  
Chris fiddled with his hands a bit, suddenly feeling nervous for reasons even he didn't know. "Listen, Steph.. about me leaving, --"  
  
She held her hand up, shaking her head. "Not now, Chris. I'm sure that's not why you came here. And besides, it doesn't matter. You left for a reason. There's no need to tell me. It's in the past." She paused, giving him a curious look. "So, really, what brings you here?"  
  
Chris blushed slightly, hoping she wouldn't tear his head off or something when she found out his real reason for showing up.  
  
He stood, going over to sit down on the couch with her. "Well," he started, "I have something for you."  
  
Stephanie arched her eyebrow once again, but nodded her head, wanting him to continue.  
  
Chris dug into his pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular box. He held it out to her, grinning slightly. "Open it and see."  
  
Stephanie glanced down at the small box, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. She traced her finger along the green ribbon that was placed neatly ontop of the box. She opened it carefully, not wanting to mess up the wrapping paper.  
  
She placed the paper beside of her, revealing a velvety box. She looked up at him, then back down at the box. She opened it slowly, her eyes widening at what she found inside.  
  
Inside the box was a silver bracelet with small diamonds which glistened under the well lit room. Her jaw dropped slightly as her gaze lifted from the bracelet to look up at him.  
  
"Turn it over," he whispered.  
  
She did as he had asked her to and squinted a bit, seeing that her name was engraved onto the back of it.  
  
Before Stephanie had a chance to respond, Chris leaned over and captured her lips in a sweet kiss which she gladly returned. He pulled away moments later, looking into her eyes.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Steph," he whispered. 


End file.
